Babylon 5: Irritating Me
Sep. 13th, 2013 02:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljwritesI'm halfway through the fourth season of Babylon 5, which is to say nearly done, and I find it a mixed bag. A complete story with season-length, not to mention series-length, mystery and suspense is a rare enough treat in television writing that it should be cherished. And I do like how there was all this foreshadowing and how the later episodes built upon the earlier ones.
On the other hand, the fact that a story is complete doesn't necessarily mean it's good, and with the conclusion of the Shadow War I'm having serious doubts. I had my reservations as early as the end of Season 1 when I realized the enemies were going to be, for all intents and purposes, malevolent supernatural beings that were impossible to reason or negotiate with. That development flattens the moral landscape, and the story loses a lot of the complexity and maturity it could have had with more human enemies.
The moral absolutism goes for the political intrigue, which the series seems to be in the progress of wrapping up now that the Shadow War is over. (And on that note, why did the Earth plotline have to fade away so completely during the Shadow War? A story that's supposed to be complete from Day 1 can't walk and chew gum at the same time?) Much like the shadows, President Clark's regime is just Pure Evil and doesn't seem to have any good points at all.
I couldn't help but contrast this black-and-white mentality to Deep Space Nine, which was careful to show where even the worst characters and viewpoints were coming from. The Dominion, for all its amorality--even the name sounds evil--has the kind of internal logic and sympathy that the Shadows never did even in the half-hearted try at the end of Season3 ("Z'ha-dum"). It's kind of surreal that some of the more dickish B5 fans mock Star Trek for wide-eyed idealism, when in fact I see much more moral nuance in many of the Star Trek shows--Deep Space Nine, Voyager, even The Next Generation.
The Shadow War arc also suffered from a surplus of gods in my opinion. Not only were the Shadows impossible to relate to in any way, the solution to the Shadow problem was to throw more godly beings at them. The one possibly sympathetic First One IMO was the original Kosh, and only near his death. Staggering under the weight of its own gods, the whole Shadow War plot descended into a morass of abstract mumbo-jumbo that fizzled out in a disappointing anticlimax.
Things weren't much better on the mortal side of things. Our mythical trio of heroes (Sinclair, Sheridan, Delenn) became less interesting the more mythical they became, and since the actually interesting characters like Ivanova and Garibaldi were at the periphery of the action I found very little in the Shadow War to hold my interest.
Still, I will declare the entire Shadow War worth it for one reason and one reason alone: Mollari and G'Kar. Okay, so maybe that's two reasons. As far as I'm concerned, the whole supernatural war stuff was nothing more than the vehicle to provide the hugely satisfying, complex, tragic, and triumphant story arcs of the two best characters in the show. Their relationship, from blood enmity to desperate cooperation to uneasy truce, was the driving force of their characters and the show.
Speaking of characterization, maybe the show would be more palatable if I didn't so actively dislike its main characters. How is Delenn supposed to be an inspiring character again? Sure she had badass moments, such as when she laid into the Grey Council. However, the way she made even the most serious situations about her (I wanted to smack her for her self-justification and complete lack of empathy to an understandably grieving and angry G'Kar), and the way she whined about how Sheridan had "only" twenty years left to live after he miraculously came back from the dead at a time when people were dying by the millions... ugh. The lady gives the words "smug entitlement" a whole new level of meaning.
Sheridan also has great moments, peaking around the time he repelled the Earthforce attack on the station, but never got to the level of being compelling. The way his wife's story was handled was just eyeroll-worthy. How convenient is it for him that Anna, when she turned out to be alive, was now Evil so he could kill her--for her own good, of course!--without any meaningful internal conflict? Can't let any actual grief or regret get in the way of the space-elf romance, no sirree! Let us vaporize the inconvenient bitch and never speak of her again. Ever.
And this time STAY dead!
In the end I guess my problem with Babylon 5 is that it increasingly turned into a juvenile wank about the coolness of being the Chosen One and how everyone who gets in the way of that or disagrees is objectively wrong. I watched the Shadow War episodes in quick succession mostly because I wanted to see what became of G'Kar and Mollari and their story of hatred, understanding, crime, resentment, power, subjugation, violence, desperation, and patriotism--you know, things that actually matter. I could care less about how perfect Sheridan and Delenn are and how crazy Garibaldi must be for seeing something wrong with Sheridan's God complex.
(A few episodes of Season 4 later; now on 4.18 "Intersections In Real Time.")
I watched a few more episodes in the hope that it's going to get better, that the show can't be that oblivious about its protagonist-centered morality. Now, watching the resolution of Garibaldi's fallout with Sheridan and Sheridan's interrogation in 4.18 I can no longer take the cognitive dissonance.
See, Evil Earthgov is trying to get Sheridan to confess that he's mentally unstable/influenced by aliens, since that's the only way a good Earthforce soldier could turn against the President. Fair enough, a look into the logic of tyranny and its inhumane methods. It's been done before but hey, why not.
Except I can't get over the fact that this was the exact same narrative that the show used for Michael Garibaldi. No, Garibaldi couldn't possibly have a legitimate disagreement with Sheridan because Sheridan is Never Wrong and is doing everything for the Good of the World, never his own agenda, oh no! It's all because Garibaldi was brainwashed by Psi Cops, you see, since clearly no good guy in his right mind could possibly think Sheridan is dangerous or wrong.
A story that purports to expose the mechanics of totalitarianism while doing the same thing itself? This is too meta for me.
Babylon 5 has an interesting premise and some great moments, particularly with Mollari and G'Kar. However, it has some glaring blind spots and loses its way by buying into its own hero myth. I've read the Wikipedia synopsis for the rest of the show and might skip ahead for more episodes featuring my two favorite characters, but otherwise the show doesn't grab me as it could have.
On the other hand, the fact that a story is complete doesn't necessarily mean it's good, and with the conclusion of the Shadow War I'm having serious doubts. I had my reservations as early as the end of Season 1 when I realized the enemies were going to be, for all intents and purposes, malevolent supernatural beings that were impossible to reason or negotiate with. That development flattens the moral landscape, and the story loses a lot of the complexity and maturity it could have had with more human enemies.
The moral absolutism goes for the political intrigue, which the series seems to be in the progress of wrapping up now that the Shadow War is over. (And on that note, why did the Earth plotline have to fade away so completely during the Shadow War? A story that's supposed to be complete from Day 1 can't walk and chew gum at the same time?) Much like the shadows, President Clark's regime is just Pure Evil and doesn't seem to have any good points at all.
I couldn't help but contrast this black-and-white mentality to Deep Space Nine, which was careful to show where even the worst characters and viewpoints were coming from. The Dominion, for all its amorality--even the name sounds evil--has the kind of internal logic and sympathy that the Shadows never did even in the half-hearted try at the end of Season3 ("Z'ha-dum"). It's kind of surreal that some of the more dickish B5 fans mock Star Trek for wide-eyed idealism, when in fact I see much more moral nuance in many of the Star Trek shows--Deep Space Nine, Voyager, even The Next Generation.
The Shadow War arc also suffered from a surplus of gods in my opinion. Not only were the Shadows impossible to relate to in any way, the solution to the Shadow problem was to throw more godly beings at them. The one possibly sympathetic First One IMO was the original Kosh, and only near his death. Staggering under the weight of its own gods, the whole Shadow War plot descended into a morass of abstract mumbo-jumbo that fizzled out in a disappointing anticlimax.
Things weren't much better on the mortal side of things. Our mythical trio of heroes (Sinclair, Sheridan, Delenn) became less interesting the more mythical they became, and since the actually interesting characters like Ivanova and Garibaldi were at the periphery of the action I found very little in the Shadow War to hold my interest.
Still, I will declare the entire Shadow War worth it for one reason and one reason alone: Mollari and G'Kar. Okay, so maybe that's two reasons. As far as I'm concerned, the whole supernatural war stuff was nothing more than the vehicle to provide the hugely satisfying, complex, tragic, and triumphant story arcs of the two best characters in the show. Their relationship, from blood enmity to desperate cooperation to uneasy truce, was the driving force of their characters and the show.
Speaking of characterization, maybe the show would be more palatable if I didn't so actively dislike its main characters. How is Delenn supposed to be an inspiring character again? Sure she had badass moments, such as when she laid into the Grey Council. However, the way she made even the most serious situations about her (I wanted to smack her for her self-justification and complete lack of empathy to an understandably grieving and angry G'Kar), and the way she whined about how Sheridan had "only" twenty years left to live after he miraculously came back from the dead at a time when people were dying by the millions... ugh. The lady gives the words "smug entitlement" a whole new level of meaning.
Sheridan also has great moments, peaking around the time he repelled the Earthforce attack on the station, but never got to the level of being compelling. The way his wife's story was handled was just eyeroll-worthy. How convenient is it for him that Anna, when she turned out to be alive, was now Evil so he could kill her--for her own good, of course!--without any meaningful internal conflict? Can't let any actual grief or regret get in the way of the space-elf romance, no sirree! Let us vaporize the inconvenient bitch and never speak of her again. Ever.
And this time STAY dead!
In the end I guess my problem with Babylon 5 is that it increasingly turned into a juvenile wank about the coolness of being the Chosen One and how everyone who gets in the way of that or disagrees is objectively wrong. I watched the Shadow War episodes in quick succession mostly because I wanted to see what became of G'Kar and Mollari and their story of hatred, understanding, crime, resentment, power, subjugation, violence, desperation, and patriotism--you know, things that actually matter. I could care less about how perfect Sheridan and Delenn are and how crazy Garibaldi must be for seeing something wrong with Sheridan's God complex.
(A few episodes of Season 4 later; now on 4.18 "Intersections In Real Time.")
I watched a few more episodes in the hope that it's going to get better, that the show can't be that oblivious about its protagonist-centered morality. Now, watching the resolution of Garibaldi's fallout with Sheridan and Sheridan's interrogation in 4.18 I can no longer take the cognitive dissonance.
See, Evil Earthgov is trying to get Sheridan to confess that he's mentally unstable/influenced by aliens, since that's the only way a good Earthforce soldier could turn against the President. Fair enough, a look into the logic of tyranny and its inhumane methods. It's been done before but hey, why not.
Except I can't get over the fact that this was the exact same narrative that the show used for Michael Garibaldi. No, Garibaldi couldn't possibly have a legitimate disagreement with Sheridan because Sheridan is Never Wrong and is doing everything for the Good of the World, never his own agenda, oh no! It's all because Garibaldi was brainwashed by Psi Cops, you see, since clearly no good guy in his right mind could possibly think Sheridan is dangerous or wrong.
A story that purports to expose the mechanics of totalitarianism while doing the same thing itself? This is too meta for me.
Babylon 5 has an interesting premise and some great moments, particularly with Mollari and G'Kar. However, it has some glaring blind spots and loses its way by buying into its own hero myth. I've read the Wikipedia synopsis for the rest of the show and might skip ahead for more episodes featuring my two favorite characters, but otherwise the show doesn't grab me as it could have.
